The Burning Earth
by Xcellll
Summary: As fire rains down on the world, another human rises to Avenge it.
1. The Beginning of the End

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS. MOVIE SPOILERS. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

The Beginning of the End

* * *

Somewhere in the Pacific Ocean

* * *

I walked down the metal corridor absentmindedly. The click of my boots against the floor was the only sound besides the gentle hum of Engine 3. Old memories of the alley started to come forward. The smell of rotting garbage and wet soil.

I was snapped out of my thoughts when a green light started to flash. I looked up at the row of lights that line the top of the dull metal walls. There was only one light shining above me, so I jogged to the nearest console.

The glowing blue S.H.I.E.L.D. dominated the screen. I pressed my hand against the glass square beside the console. The logo disappeared and was replaced by a black screen. After a few seconds a box popped up. At the top were the words Conformation Code. I pulled out the keyboard and typed in my forty digit code. Once I hit enter, the box disappeared. After a few seconds a message came up.

**HANGER 10**

**1HR.**

**BRING YOUR KNIVES.**

**COULSON**

With those instructions, I walked over to the nearest lift and opened the door. I hit the button for level 12. The lift zoomed up and then beeped. The doors slid open with a hiss to reveal another hallway. It was lined with metal doors that were marked only with four digit numbers. I walked down to the midway point of the hall and stopped at the door marked 4928. I twisted the handle on the door a stepped through it.

My bunk was very simple. To one side was a metal bed with black blankets and pillow. Next to it was a metal dresser. The only thing on it was an alarm clock. There was another door on the right wall that led to my bathroom. Not bad for a seventeen year old. I closed the door behind me and locked it.

I grabbed a fresh set of clothes from the dresser and walked into the bathroom. After a quick shower, I pulled on my boxers and a black tank top. I grabbed a black mesh top and pulled it on. It had a little heft to it. It was a weave of cloth and lightweight metal. It was designed to soften most hand to hand combat injuries. The collar covered most of my neck, with S.H.I.E.L.D. insignia was on both shoulders. I put on a pair of pants made of the same material. I put on a black belt and combat boots and walked back out into the main room.

Standing there was Natasha. She was wearing a black cocktail dress, with black heels and her bright red hair up in a bun with a large black pin. I could tell that it was sharp enough to stab someone with. I sighed and pinched the bridge of my nose.

"Natasha, how many times have I told you not to do that?"

She just shrugged.

"Thirty-seven."

"And yet you still do it. But that's not the point. What are you doing here?"

Natasha shifted uncomfortably.

"I heard you were going out on assignment, and I wanted to tell you to be safe."

I nodded. Natasha had always acted as mother figure to me. She was the one who found me in that alley. I had only ever seen her show any sort of affection to me. And Clint.

"Thanks. Are you heading out?"

"Director Fury wants me to infiltrate a gun running organization in Russia."

I raised my eyebrows. I knew about her times in Russia.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine. You should get down to the armory."

Natasha left the room. I walked over to the dresser and opened the bottom drawer. Inside was a rig of straps and clips. It was meant to hold a large assortment of knives. Next to it was a black leather knee length jacket. I attached the rig to my chest. I pulled the jacket on and rushed to the armory.

* * *

Armory, Level C, the Wishbone

* * *

I walked through the open door of the armory and looked around. I was on the third level, standing at the intersection of a series of metal catwalks. The columns that took the space between were rows upon rows of various racks of weapons. I walked down the aisles until I found a large rack of knives. There was everything from a simple switchblade to ballistic knives. I grinned and started to pick out my weapons.

In the end, I grabbed three ballistic knives, two Bowie knives, to survival knives, a Soviet era combat knife, and a dozen 6 inch long throwing knives. As I pulled my coat on over my mini arsenal, I grabbed a Beretta 92 and two extra clips. Better safe than sorry. I attached the gun holster to my belt and walked to the hangers.

* * *

Hanger 10

* * *

As I stepped through a portal into Hanger 10, I felt a burst of cold air ruffle my hair and coat. Quinjets filled the hanger, being serviced by engineers and pilots. A few feet away, Agent Coulson was standing in front of an open Quinjet. I walked over to him and grinned.

"Coulson! Good to see you! How are you?"

I had always liked Phil. His sense of humor was a rare gem here. He had become my closest friend here.

"Fine. We should get going soon."

I patted him on the shoulder and followed him onto the jet.

"Okay. By the way, how is it going with the cellist?"


	2. Into the Tundra

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Into the Tundra

* * *

Somewhere over Eastern Canada

* * *

I sat down in one of the seats and checked my knives again. Phil sat across from me, drumming his fingers against his leg. We had taken off about a half our ago, and had just crossed into Canadian airspace.

"So, Phil, what's my mission?"

Coulson reached into his coat and pulled out a manilla file folder.

"For a few months now we've been investigating an up and coming Canadian mob. They've gotten a large outfit surprisingly fast. We want you to take them down before they get to large."

"What do you want? Main compound wiped out? Disrupt their shipments?"

"Sort of. We want you to infiltrate the main compound. Once you in, you need to find something incriminating. Papers, logs, a little black book. Any evidence that we can use to take them down."

"Okay. What are they, drug runners?"

"They do just about everything. Drug running, gun trade, human trafficking."

"Human trafficking?"

"Kidnapping tourists. Our intel says that there may be some of them in the basement of the compound."

Coulson handed me the folder. I opened it and saw that there were blueprints, maps, and a photo.

"Who's this?"

"I don't know. She's been confirmed to be in the compound. You've been given orders to get her out alive. That order came straight from the Council."

I began to think that this girl was the only reason I was going down there. S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't usually get involved with things like this. I looked at the picture again. It looked like a highschool yearbook photo. The girl in the picture looked about fifteen or sixteen. The girl had platinum blonde hair theat fell down to her shoulders. Her bright green eyes seemed to Look right through me. A smile was on her lightly tanned face, giving her a feeling of warmth.

"Will you be waiting for me?"

Phil shook his head.

"After we drop you off, I'm heading to the Joint Dark Matter facility. There will be a backup team two klicks east of the compound. They will take you back to base."

I closed the folder and set it down next to me. I felt us start to descend. I checked my weapons one more time and unbuckled myself. I walked up the aisle and into the cockpit. It was raining outside. I grabbed my earpeice off of the holder and synced it to the backup team's channel.

"Testing. This is Agents Marcus Rogers."

There was a click. An Agent Barlow came on. She told me there location and the signal for help in case of radio failure.

As we began to land, I jogged down to the end of the jet and lowered the ramp. A blast of cold air blew, letting in the rain and snow. I pulled my coat on tighter and pulled on my sunglasses. The image switched to thermal. The entire jeta around me became a bright orange color.

"Good luck."

I turned back to Phil, He was bright red with and orange tint around the edges.

"You too."

With that, I walked out into the Canadian wilderness.


	3. Infiltartion

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Infiltration

* * *

Quebec Wilderness

* * *

As I trudged through three feet of snow, in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain, in _Canada_, I began to have a new a appreciation for indoor heating. My gear insulated most heat, the parts of me that were uncovered felt like ice. I pulled up the hood of my jacket and straightened my glasses. The trees were dotted with balls of heat. An occasional hoot came from them. As I climbed aver a ridge, I saw the compound.

It was a collection of five buildings. They were all centered in the middle of a large clearing. I switched my glasses to the noraml setting and zoomed in. The buildings were all made of cinder blocks. There were no windows, and each one only seemed to have a singled meatl door. Next to each door was a keypad. Guards patrolled around the edges and in between buildings at regular intervals. But those were the least of my worries.

Surronding the compound was a large chain-link fence, topped with barbed wire. It formed a perfect square, with sentry towers at each corner. The towers were topped with large spotlights, with snipers in the crow's nests. The spotlights formed an uninterrupted field around the area. There was no way I could walk up to it and get through the fence. There was only one option. I hated the one option.

I went a few feet down the ridge and skirted around the edge of the tree line. I prayed that the snow was deep enough to hide me from the snipers. If they saw me, I would become very bloody Swiss cheese. I started my slow, cold trek through the snow.

* * *

45 minutes later

* * *

I crept through the shadows of the buildings, avoiding the path of the guards. I made sure to caver up the hole I had come out of. Luckily, most of the lights were focused on the outside, leaving the inside of the complex a lot darker. Much easier to slip aroun undetected.

As I walked around a building. As I turned a corner, I saw a guard walking away from me. I pulled out the combat knife and snuck up behind the guy. I covered his mouth and drove the tip of my blade into his neck. Blood started to flow dow n his neck and onto my arm. I covered the are with his coat, causing it to absorb the blood. I shoved the dead man deep under the snow, succsesfully hiding the body.

I approached the metal door and looked at the keypad. It was a simple number four digit model. I used my knife to carfully take off the pad, revealing the tangle of wires beneath. I studied the for a few minutes, then cut to of the wires. There ws a beep, and I heard the click of the door unlocking. I quickly replaced the pad and pulled the door open. There was a groan from the metal, but no one came running. I pulled the door closed behind me.

I was standing in a dimly lit room. A single flickering lightbul hung from the middle of the ceiling. The only things in the room were to metal shelves. The only things on them were cans of tuna and a box labled **GIRAFFE**. I didn't want to know what was in those. The only other thing in the room was a rug.

This was just pathetic. A rug, in the middle of a concrete building. I walked over to it and pulled it up. Underneath it was a metal slab with a chain attached to it. I grabbed the cahin and pulled it up. The slab slowly rose up, revealing a set of metal spiral stairs. A blast of cold air came up, bringing with it the smell of alcohol, cocaine, and urine. I was about go down when I heard a scream.

The sound was that of someone who was being tortured.

I rushed down the stairs. At the bottom was a long hallway. A string of lights went down it casting a dim light along the doors that lined it. There were about four or five to each side. The screaming had stopped, but I was still going to find where it was coming from. I opened the first door to my left.

The room was filled with bricks of uncut cocaine. I closed the door and checked the rest of the doors. All of them were filled with cocaine. As I checked the inal door on the right, I found that it was an office. In the middle of the room was a desk, with a metal safe in the corner. I closed the door behind me, checking for cameras. There were none. I sat in the chair behind the desk and checked the drawers. They were all filled with pointless documents. Nothing of importance.

I turned to the safe. I had to admit, it was pretty heavy duty. Thumb rint scanner, keypad, retina scanner. This might be tricky. If I weren't from S.H.I.E.L.D. I pulled out a small circular device from inside my jacket and stuck it to the front of the safe. There was a whirring sounds, a few clicks, and then a beep. I pulled the safe open and pulled the device off the door.

The only thing in the safe was a large, letaher bound, black book. A bit of a cliche. I opened the book and saw that it was log. Lists of shipments, budgets, secret acounts that the money was being moved. The jackpot. I stuffed the book into my jacket pocket. As I stood up, the door opened.


	4. Alexis

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Alexis

* * *

Compound Basement, Main Office

* * *

Before the man could make a sound, I threw a knife at him. It stuck itself in his throat, killing him instantly. I was about to retrieve my knife when I heard a yell come from behind the dead man.

I ducked just as a bullet came whizzing through the door. I ducked under the desk and grabbed two trowing knives. I heard the thud of a heavy boot hitting the floor. My combat training kicked in at the sound. I fell onto my back and brought my legs up to my chest. I then kicked them forward, knocking the desk over. I hooked my feet so I was pulled up while it tipped over. I felt a tump as the desk hit the person that had walked in. I jumped up and kicked the man in the side off the head. The entire thing took about ten seconds.

I walked over and made sure that the man was unconcious. I then made sure that the was no one else in the hall. I retreived my knife from the knife from the dead man. I shoved the bodies into the office and closed the door.

At the end of the hall opposite from the stairs, the was one last metal door. I walked over to it and tried the handle. I pulled out my smallest knife and stuck the tip in the keyhole. After some twisting, the door unlocked. I pulled the handle and shoved the door open.

I wasn't the only person in the room. Against the far wall was a girl. I walked over to her and got to my knees. She was bound to the wall by two sets of handcuffs that were attached to two large metal rings in the wall. Here blond hair was matted with dirt and blood. I was about to get her out of her handcuffs whe she raised her head.

She was the girl I was supposed to retrieve. Her greens eyes were filled with hatred. Her hair was matted to her forhead. The rest of her face was covered with dirt and a little blood. The were a few cuts on her forhead and cheek.

"What the hell do you want now? You people take me from my bed, drag me down into this basement, starve me, and try to rape me, so what else could there be?"

Tears strarted to fall from her eyes. She was from the states, probably New York. Before she could say anything else, I placed my had over her mouth.

"I'm going to need you to be quiet. I was sent in here to rescue you. Now, I'm going to get you out of these handcuffs, and I need you not to make a sound. Okay?"

The girl looked shocked. She nodded slowly. When I took my knife out again, her eyes widened.

"No, no! Don't worry."

I took my hand off her mouth slowly. Ensuring that she didn't scream. I moved over to the lock on the first set of cuffs.

"Who are you?"

"My name is Marcus."

"Who sent you?"

"Not quite sure. They're way above my pay grade. Now I have a few questions for you. What's your name?"

"Alexis Hannon. Wouldn't you kow that already?"

"No. I was sent in blind. I only got to see a picture of you."

I unlocked the first cuffs.

"Next, how did you get here?"

Alexis shivered.

"I was doing a tour across Canada during my summer break. I was staying in Montreal for a week. One night, I was sleeping in my hotel. The next thing I know, I'm in the back of a van. They dragged me down here, cuffed me, and that's all I know. I don't know why they took me, I don't know who _they _are."

I heard her let out a sob. I unlockked the last set of cuffs and moved back over to Alexis. Tears were streaming down her face. Gently tilted her head up to mine.

"Hey. I'm going to get you out of here. You're safe now. I'm ot going to let anything happen to you. Do you trust me?"

Alexis nodded again.

"Okay. We just need to wait here for a few minutes."

I took her hand and stood up. I gently pulled her up with me. That was the first time I noticed what she was wearing. All she had on was a babydoll. It was a pink lace halter neck. It had a chiffon body and triangle shaped lace cups, The only other thing she had on was a pink lace g-string. There were large gashed across the babydoll, showing some of her breasts.

I shrugged off my coat and placed it one her shoulders. She slipped her arms through the sleeves ad pulled it tightly around her body. She was probably five foot nine, about four feet shorter than me, so the coat hung down to her ankles. Now that I got a good look at her, she looked like she was maybe sixteen.

"How old are you?"

"Sixteen."

Bingo. I pressed my finger to my earpiece. There was a buzz.

"Barlow. This is Rogers. I need a extraction. We're in the basement of the south-east building. Behind the door marked with an Omega. COdeword is Abbadon. All others are hostiles."

"Roger that. Estimated arrival time thirty minutes."

Barlow buzzed out. I grabbed the mini spraypait can from my belt and walked over to the door. I opened it and checked the hall. Still empty. I spray painted a red Omega on the door. I closed the door behind me and walked back over to Alexis.

"Do you kow how to use a gun?"

She nodded.

"My grandfather taught me."

I took my gu out of my holster and held it out to her, grip first. She hesitantly took it out of my hand.

"Will I need this?"

"Hopefully not, but you can never be to careful. We have a half hour to kill."

We both sat down next to each other on the floor. Alexis was playing with the edge of her babydoll.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Shoot."

"Are you a bounty hunter?"

I chuckled and shook my head.

"No, I'm not a bounty hunter."

"Then what are you? Your to young to be a cop, a a federal agent. How old are you?"

"Seventeen."

I saw her eyebrows shoot up.

"Your not even of legal age. Who do you work for?"

"I'm not usually supposed to tell people this, but if my higher ups want you out so much, they probably wo't mind. I work for an organization called S.H.I.E.L.D."

"I've never heard of S.H.I.E.L.D. Does that stand for something?"

"It stnds for Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. And almost no one's heard of us. We operate outside of any government. We operate in secret, keeping the world safe."

Before I could go on, Alexis started to giggle.

"What?"

"I'm sorry, but you just sounded like a really corny cartoon intro."

I laughed too.

"I did, didn't I?"

We both laughed for a minute.

"But seriously, were basically the world police."

"So, you don't answer to anyone?"

"No. We answer to the World Defence Council. They made up of a series of people that have been chosen by the leaders of various world powers. The U.S, China, Russia, England. The Council are the ones who gave me the order to get you out of here. Which brings me back to, who are you?"

Alexis shrugged.

"I told you. My name is Alexis Hannon, I'm sixteen, I'm from New York. There's nothing special about me."

"I wouldn't say that."

We both looked at each other for a minute. We were silent until I heard a knock on the door. I stood up and frabbed a knife.

"Codeword?"

"Abbadon."

I opened the door slowly and saw three armed S.H.I.E.L.D. soldiers. The man in front stepped forward.

"Agent Marcus Rogers?"

"Yes."

"Who is the woman with you?"

I turned to look at Alexis. She saw that we were all looking at her. She blushed and pulled the coat on tighter.

"She's Alexis Hannon. My primary mission was to retrieve her."

The man nodded.

"Please come with me. There have been developments in Arizona the you need to be briefed on."

"What kind of developments?"

"We're at Level 7."

I felt the blood drain from my face. I turned back to Alexis and held out my hand.

"We need to go."

She must have seen the expression on my face, because she grabbed my hand and followed me out.


	5. New Mission

I DON'T OWN THE AVENGERS.

New Mission

* * *

Somewhere over the Canada

* * *

I kept looking over the videos again and again. It just didn't seem possible. There was footage of the Tesseract glowing; a flash of light, then there was a man holding some sort of spear. Within a few seconds, he had killed most of the people in the room. He held Clint up against the wall, pressing the tip of the spear against his chest. The gem inside the spear shot a blue light into him. He proceeded to do it to other agents. I saw Director Fury put the Tesseract in its case. After a brief scuffle with the hostiles, Clint took out his pistol and shot Fury square in the chest. They then took the Tesseract and left.

That was when the video cut out. I flipped through screens of profiles, last known locations. I the felt my phone buzz in my pocket. I unbuckled myself and stood up. We were currently en route to base. I looked at the seat next to me. Alexis was buckled in to it, curled up in a blanket. Normally we would have dropped her off at a safe house to be debriefed, but we had been ordered back to base, no stops.

Alexis let out a soft moan in her sleep. She was going to be debriefed at base. The moment the plane had taken off, she had passed out.

I pulled my phone open and hit the answer button.

"Rogers."

"Agent Rogers."

It was Director Fury.

"Director. Is there any news on Agent Barton?"

"Not as of yet. Due to recent events, I have deemed it necessary to reinstate the Avengers Initiative."

The Avengers Initiative had been shut down about six months ago, after all the people we had our eyes on were deemed 'unstable' and 'un-manageable'.

"Sir, are you sure that's a good idea? The Avengers Initiative was shut down for a good reason."

"I realize that, but after the events in with the Tesseract, I fell that we could use some outside help. Now, do you want to keep arguing about this, or would you like me to give you your mission?"

I sighed and was silent.

"Good. I have Agents picking up all the applicants except for Stark. I need you to give him some homework. Tell your jet to drop you off in New York."

"Yes, sir."

I hung up the phone and walked into the cockpit. I tapped the pilot on the shoulder.

"We need to make a detour."

"I have orders to go straight back to base, no stops."

"Well, I just got a call from the Director, telling me to stop us in New York. So, I can either get him back on the phone, and let him yell at you, or you can land the damn plane."

The pilot thought it over for a few minutes, and then changed our course.

"We'll be there soon."

"Thanks."

I walked out of the cockpit and back to my seat. I sat down next to Alexis and picked up my console. It was about the size and shape of a laptop, except the screen was clear. It was currently downloading the information for Stark. I looked over at Alexis. She had shifted in her seat, causing her blanket to fall down further on her body. When we had gotten to the base camp before taking off. She was now wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, grey pants, and black combat boots. Her face and hair had been washed, and bandages put on her wounds. She looked kind of cute when she was asleep. I pulled the blanket up onto her again, and then stood up.

I walked over to the cockpit again and checked our location. We were about five minutes out from our private landing strip at LaGuardia. We started to descend, breaking the cloud barrier. The entire city was lit up for miles. As we touched down, I walked back to the landing bay doors. The door opened and let in a blast to cold evening air. I heard a gasp and turned around.

Alexis had woken up. She looked confused. I walked back over to her and sat down.

"Hey."

"What's going on?"

"We just landed in New York."

"Are we getting off here?"

"No. I just have an errand to run. I should be back in an hour or two."

"You're leaving?"

I nodded.

"But I'll be back soon. You should just go back to sleep."

She nodded.

"What's the Avengers Initiative?"

"Where did you hear the name?"

She gestured to the console in my hand. It had finished downloading the information. The alert said **AVENGERS INITIATIVE.**

"Damn it. You should forget you saw that. Okay?"

She nodded hesitantly.

"Okay. See you soon."

I stood up again. I walked out the doors and jogged towards the parking lot. I hailed a cab and got in. I gave the cabbie the address and closed my eye.


	6. He's In

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

He's In

* * *

Outside Stark Tower

* * *

I looked up at the building and rolled my eyes. The man was an Olympic level narcissist. It would be one thing if the sign said Stark Industries. At least that was the name of his company. But the giant sign just said Stark. It wasn't lit up yet, but it was still hard to miss.

I walked through the sliding glass doors and into the lobby. It was a semi-circular room, with floors of marble and walls of craggy rock, water flowing down the rough surfaces. A large crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling, casting a warm glow on the room. In the center of the room was a circular desk. I the center of the desk was a woman. She looked up at me with surprise.

"Excuse me young man, but Stark Tower is not yet open to the public. We will be open on May 4, 2012."

I sighed.

I'm truly sorry about this."

I pulled a Taser out and shot her with it. She shook for a few seconds and collapsed. I walked over to where the door opened and swung the door out. I gently moved the woman so that she was lying under the table, and then sat down in her chair.

Her computer was still logged in, cycling through various security cameras. I clicked the mouse and the cameras. I opened the security logs, looking for Stark's private phone number. It took me a few minutes, but eventually I found. I dialed it and held the phone up to my ear.

"This is Tony Stark's personal phone. He is currently indisposed. May I ask who is calling?"

"Tell him that it's Agent Marcus Rogers of S.H.I.E.L.D. Tell him that it's urgent. Also, tell him I know that he's in the Iron Man suit."

I went back to the computer and found the emergency code for his private elevator. I hit the emergency open button. As an afterthought, I downloaded the buildings security mainframe onto my phone. I leapt over the desk and into the elevator.

As the door closed, JARVIS's voice came over the intercom.

"Sir, I'm afraid that you will have to exit the elevator."

I hit the up button, but the elevator stayed where it was.

"Please exit the elevator."

I sighed and took out my phone. I brought up the elevator system and started to override the stupid A.I. The elevator jolted upwards. I dialed Stark's number again.

"Hello, you have reached the Life Model Decoy of Tony Stark. Please leave a message and he won't get back to you."

"It's urgent."

"Then leave it urgently."

"Mr. Stark, we can do this the easy way or the hard way."

"Not that I really care, but what's the hard way?"

The elevator dinged and opened. The penthouse was enormous. It took up the entire floor. The room was lined with floor to ceiling windows, giving an amazing view of the New York skyline. The room was split up into two parts. There was the bar, which was a large curving counter with various types of alcohol on the shelves behind it.

The other part of the room seemed to be the living room. It was a large sunken in area with black marble floors. It was three stark, pardon the pun, white couches and identical fur rug. On one of those couches were Tony Stark and Pepper Potts.

"This is the hard way."

I hung up the phone and stepped out of the elevator. I pulled the console out of my coat. Stark stood up and walked over to me.

"Security breach."

He turned to Pepper.

"That's on you."

Stark to turned back to me and examined me.

"Fury keeps getting them younger and younger. How old are you, eighteen?"

"Seventeen. But that isn't important. S.H.I.E.L.D. needs your help."

"You should know that my consulting hours are between nine to five every other Thursday."

"It's urgent."

"You mentioned that. But why should I do this."

"Do you want the long version or the short version?"

He thought about it for a second.

"Let's try short version."

"Someone stole something that could blow up the Earth."

That was the moment Pepper stepped in.

"So what is the long version?"

"About four hours ago, one of our facilities was infiltrated by a hostile. He then proceeded to kill several agents and steal an artifact of immense power."

Pepper frowned.

"That doesn't give us much more than the short version."

"That's as much as I can give you right now. And we don't just need you, Mr. Stark. We need Iron man as well."

I nodded ad held out the console to Stark. He made a face and stepped back.

"I don't like to be handed things."

Pepper held out her hand to me.

"I however love to be handed things."

I traded her console for the glass of champagne in her and then she did the same to Stark, Leaving the two of us with champagne and Stark with the console. I took a sip of champagne.

"Wait, is this about then Avengers?"

I turned back to Pepper and frowned. She realized her mistake at once.

"Which I know nothing about."

Stark walked over to a desk that I hadn't noticed at first.

"The Avengers were shut down."

"Which I also know nothing about."

"And I thought I didn't qualify. I was considered, what was it... volatile, self-centered, and I don't play well with others."

"I knew that."

I took another sip of champagne and nodded.

"Due to recent circumstances…."

Stark started up the console and hooked it up to a port in his desk. Various images were projected around the room. One of them was news footage of the Hulk's rampage through Harlem, old war videos of Captain America, and footage of the fight between Thor and the Destroyer.

"… Director Fury has decided to re-open the Initiative."

"Circumstances like this?"

He turned the video of Loki towards me.

"Exactly."

"I don't think I want to."

Pepper rolled her eyes.

"Give me just a minute with him."

She walked over to him and started to talk to him in hushed tones. She then stood on her toes and whispered into his ear. He made a disgusted look mixed with pure glee. I shot gunned the rest of the champagne. She then walked back over to me.

"He's in. Are you going by LaGuardia?"

"I can give you a ride."

We both walked into the elevator and headed down.


	7. Reassurance

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Reassurance

* * *

LaGuardia Airport, Private Airstrip

* * *

I jogged through the cold night air towards the Quinjet. The only things to signify that it was there on the unlit airstrip were the lights that went around the edge of the door. I walked over to it and pulled the hatch open. I heard the click of a gun and looked up. One of the guards had his pistol pointed at my head. I raised my hands into the air.

"It's just me."

The man lowered his gun.

"Sorry, sir."

I walked through the hatch and closed it behind me. The guard headed into the cockpit, I assumed to let the pilot know that I was here. I looked around and saw that Alexis was asleep. Her head was shifted to one side, leaving her breathing into the head rest. I sat down next to her and buckled myself in. As the engines started up and we took off, her head shifted again, so that she was sleeping on my shoulder.

I felt my face flush slightly. I looked away from her and closed my eyes. I was exhausted. I felt myself drift to sleep.

* * *

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier

* * *

I felt someone nudge my arm. I opened my eyes and reached for a knife. I saw that it was Alexis and stopped. She looked surprised. She scooted away.

"Sorry."

She shook her head.

"It's okay. I just wanted to let you know that were landing. I also wanted to ask you something."

"What?"

"Where are we landing? I tried asking the guard and the pilot but just told me to sit back down."

I smiled and unbuckled myself.

"I'm not allowed to tell you exactly where we're landing. But I can say that we're landing in the Atlantic Ocean, at S.H.I.E.L.D.'s home base."

"Your home base is in the middle of the ocean?"

"Sometimes."

I gave her a knowing smile and walked towards the cockpit. The sun was starting to rise over the ocean, creating a beautiful rainbow effect. I squinted and saw a solitary speck I the middle of the ocean. As we got closer I could make out more details of the Hellicarrier.

It looked like an incredibly large aircraft carrier. It had two decks for planes, one bellow the other, each as large as the deck of a normal aircraft carrier. Planes lined the deck, with a few taking off every few minutes. Engineers were scurrying across the decks, refueling planes and clearing the runways. I pressed my finger to my headset.

"This is Agent Marcus Rogers, requesting permission to land."

"Security clearance code please."

"Alpha, zeta, tango, seven, six, six, eight, foxtrot, tango."

There was a pause for a minute as we circled.

"Agent Rogers, you are cleared for landing on Deck A in five minutes."

I told the pilot this and waited as we circled. A buzzer went off in the cabin and we started to descend. I walked out of the cockpit and over to Alexis.

"We'll be landing in a minute."

"Great. Can you help me unbuckle myself?"

I helped her with the straps and pulled her up. When we lurched as we hit the runway, Alexis grabbed onto my arm.

"Steady now."

She giggled and let go of my arm.

"Hey, before we get off, I just wanted to thank you. For everything."

I shrugged.

"It's my job."

"Still, thank you."

She then stood on her toes and kissed my cheek. We both stared at each other for a minute, before the hatch opened. Sunlight shone in through the hatch, making the entire place brighter.

"Come on, we should get you inside. The sooner you're debriefed, the sooner your life gets back to normal."

Alexis nodded and followed me out of the jet.


	8. Reservations

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Reservations

* * *

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Deck A

* * *

I climbed out of the Quinjet and onto the deck. A slight breeze blew over the side, giving the air a slight nip. The sun was still only half above the ocean's surface. I checked my watch. It was six in the morning.

I turned around and helped Alexis out of the jet. She smiled and climbed out next to me. Her wavy blond hair flowed in the morning air. I realized that I was staring at her and looked away.

Two people walked through a door in the control tower. They started to walk over to us. One was a man; about five foot ten, who had light brown hair and blue eyes. Agent Denton. He was the 'good cop' in our debriefing room. Luckily the bad cop wasn't with him. Walking next to him was Maria Hill. They both stopped in front of us. Denton extended his hand to Alexis.

"Hi, I'm Jack. I was wondering if you could answer a few questions."

Denton always had an upbeat attitude. People trusted him. Alexis turned to look at me. I just nodded.

"Okay."

She shook his hand and followed him inside. I turned to Hill.

"Stark's on board. How many of the others do we have?"

"Agent Romanoff has secured Banner, and Coulson is bringing in Rogers."

She paused for a minute.

"Sorry, the other Rogers."

"Any word on the Tesseract? Or Barton?"

Hill just shook her head.

"That's the reason Banner is coming. He's the only one that can trace the Tesseract's gamma signature."

"And do we have a plan for the Hulk?"

"We just pray it doesn't come to that."

I prayed.

"I assume you came up here for a reason?"

"Director Fury wants to see you in an hour. You should go change."

I looked down at myself and saw that there were blood stains on my shirt.

"Yeah."

* * *

The Command Deck

* * *

I walked down the metal hall towards the Command Deck, freshly showered and changed. I was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, black pants, combat boots and my jacket. My hair was still wet as I walked into the room.

The room was enormous. It was filled with computer console, lining the walls and the edges of the raised area. I was standing on said raised area. In front of me was a large triangular table. It had three on both sides and one at the head. It had a clear glass top with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo in the middle. In front of it were for screens on stands, all at eye level. In between the screens was Director Fury.

He was wearing a black business suit, with matching suit and tie. His leather eye patch covered his missing eye, with blackened veins surrounding it. No one new how he had lost his eye. Fury turned to me.

"Agent Rogers. Agent Hill told me that you managed to convince Stark."

"Yes sir."

"And you succeeded in rescuing the young woman?"

"Yes sir. She's with Agent Denton now."

"And the ledger?"

I pulled it out from inside my coat and handed it to him. He flipped through it then handed it to one of the people manning the computers.

"Very good. And one more thing."

"Yes sir?"

"Do you still have your reservations about the Avengers?"

I nodded.

"I do. I believe that it is a shot in the dark. I think perhaps trying to contact Xavier's would be a better idea. But I've learned to trust you."

Fury nodded and took a step forward.

"I value your trust. I know it doesn't come easily to you."

I nodded and walked over to the edge and squatted. I looked at a screen that was zooming through feeds from security cameras, traffic cams, and even Facebook photos, searching for Clint. Half of the computers seemed to be looking for Clint, the other half for Loki.

"When will Banner be getting here?"

"Agent Romanoff is bringing him in from India now. They should be here in three hours."

Good. If Banner could find the Tesseract, that would lead us to Loki and Clint.

"And Rogers?"

"About the same time as Banner. I've cleared a spot in your schedule for you to be there when he arrives."

"Thank you, sir."

"I can sympathize. It isn't every day you get to meet your great-grandfather."

* * *

**A/N: My blog for the Burning Earth is up, at . Check it out. There will be character descriptions, files, full chapters.**


	9. Takeoff

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Takeoff

* * *

Deck A

* * *

I stood out on the flight deck, looking up at the sky. I was standing in front of a Quinjet, trying to stay out of the engineers' way. I looked across the deck and saw a nervous looking man looking at the jets. It was Bruce Banner. I walked across the deck towards him.

"Doctor Banner!"

He turned towards me and smiled.

"Hi. I was told to wait here. I'm not even sure what I'm supposed to do."

"I think we both might be waiting for the same person. By the way, Marcus Rogers."

I held out my hand to him. He shook it.

"Rogers? As in…?"

"Yep. His great-grandson."

"Does he know?"

"Nope. This is going to be a big family reunion."

We were both silent until I felt someone staring at me. I spun around and saw Natasha standing there.

"God! How many times have I told you not to do that? Thirty-eight?"

She just nodded. Natasha was wearing black jeans, a red tank top with orange trim, and a leather jacket on top.

"I'm just here to escort Rogers into the building. I'd let Coulson do it, but I'm worried he'd try to steal some of his hair."

I chuckled and looked up.

"Here they come."

A Quinjet touched down a few feet away and moved down the runway. Natasha walked towards the plane, waiting as the landing bay door swung down. The first person to walk out was Phil. He was smiling like Christmas had come early. I sucked in a breath and watched the next person walk out.

He was about six and a half feet tall, with blond hair and blue eyes. I recognized his blue eyes as the ones I saw whenever I looked in the mirror. He was wearing brown pants, with a brown and green pinstriped shirt tucked in, wearing a brown leather jacket and shoes. I got the sense that he liked brown.

He stepped off the jet and looked around. He looked bewildered. He followed Coulson over to us.

"Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff."

"Hey."

Coulson then walked towards the control tower.

"There was quite the buzz when we fished you out of the ice."

She led him over to us.

"Doctor Banner. I hear you can find the Cube."

He offered his hand to Banner. They shook hands. Banner nodded nervously.

"Is that _all_ you heard about me?"

"The only thing that I care about."

He turned to me and offered me his hand.

"Steve Rogers."

"Marcus… you know, we should get inside. It's about to get very hard to breathe."

A shake went through the ship.

Steve looked over at the edge of the ship.

"Is this a submarine?"

Banner wrung his hands and stepped forward. Steve and I followed him, looking over the edge.

"Really? They want me submerged in a pressurized metal container?"

We all looked over the edge and watched the water churn. Whirlpools started to form. There was a groaning sound, and two massive closed in propellers rose out of the water. The entire ship started to rise out of the water.

"Oh, no, this is much worse!"

I couldn't help but smile.

"I always love this part."

The entire ship rose into the air. The three of us backed up from the edge. Natasha came over to us.

"Gentlemen, if you'll follow me inside."

Steve and Banner walked in front of her. She lagged behind until she was next to me.

"Why didn't you tell him?"

"The opportunity didn't present itself."

"It did, but you didn't take it. You need to tell him."

"Oh, like you've never tried to avoid something unpleasant, Helena Merida."

"You said you wouldn't mention that."

"Yeah, well, you keep pressuring me to tell him, and I'll mention all of your uncomfortable secrets."

We both fell silent as the four of us walked into the Command Deck. Fury was standing next to the table. Steve walked over to him, pulled a ten out of his wallet, and handed it to him. Steve then proceeded to look in awe at the Deck. Fury stuck the bill in his pocket and walked over to Banner. They shook hands.

"Doctor, thank you for coming."

"Thanks for asking nicely. So, uh... how long am I staying?"

"Once we get our hands on the Tesseract, you're in the clear."

"Where are you with that?"

I saw Natasha out of the corner of my eye, looking at a picture of Clint on one of the screens. Fury turned to Agent Coulson to explain.

"We're sweeping every wirelessly accessible camera on the planet. Cell phones, laptops. If it's connected to a satellite, it's eyes and ears for us."

Tasha stood up and walked back over to us.

"That's still not gonna find them in time."

Banner spoke up.

"You have to narrow the field. How many spectrometers do you have access to?"

"How many are there?"

"Call every lab you know, tell them to put the spectrometers on the roof and calibrate them for gamma rays. I'll rough out a tracking algorithm based on cluster recognition. At least we could rule out a few places. Do you have somewhere for me to work?"

"Agent Romanoff, would you show Dr. Banner to his laboratory, please."

Natasha nodded and walked off, leading Banner down the hall.

"You're gonna love it, Doc. We got all the toys."

They walked off, leaving the three of us.

"And Rogers."

Both Steve and I looked up.

"Yes?"

We said the word in unison. We looked at each other. Fury cleared his throat.

"_Agent_ Rogers. I think you and Captain Rogers should take conference room three. You two have a lot to talk about."

I nodded and beckoned for Steve to follow me.


	10. Family History

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Family History

* * *

Conference Room 3, The Wishbone, Deck H

* * *

I sat at one end of the cold metal table, lightly tapping my fingers against the hard surface. Steve sat at the other side, looking around the room. He looked at me and sat up straighter.

"So, what do we need to talk about?"

"Do you remember a woman named Peggy Carter?"

He looked shocked, but nodded after a few seconds.

"Do you remember a night you spent together? France, about a month before you went missing?"

His face flushed. He glared at me and stood up.

"How the hell do you know about that?"

"Because nine months after that she had a child. A boy. She named him Steve Rogers Jr."

"I have a son?"

I sighed and stared at my hands.

"Had. He died a few months ago. I'm sorry. But he married a woman, and had a son with her. Jackson Rogers. He died in a car accident twelve years ago. But not before he had a son. He was five when his parents died."

"So I have a great-grandson? Is he still alive?"

I nodded.

"Where is he?"

I slowly raised my hand. We both looked at each other for a minute. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes.

"I'm sorry. I just have no idea what to do in this situation."

I let out a small chuckle.

"Me either. I mean, I'm sitting in the same room as my great-grandfather who looks like he's only five years older than me."

We both laughed. He looked like he was about to say something, but there was a buzzing sound. I pulled out my phone and checked it,

"They found Loki."

We both stood up and headed for the door.

"Where are we going?"

"Germany. Follow me. It's time for you to suit up."

* * *

Somewhere Over Eastern France

* * *

I sat down in the co-pilots seat and pulled on a headset. We were on our way to Stuttgart, Germany. 22 Konigstrasse. Loki had been seen entering a party celebrating some German physicist. Banner thought he might be after iridium, an element required to stabilize the portal created by the Tesseract.

I looked over the edge of my seat and saw Steve sitting at the far side of the ship. He was wearing his suit. His shield was resting against his leg. He hadn't said a word to me since the conference room.

Natasha was sitting in the pilot's seat, expertly flying us through the French countryside. She didn't try to get me to talk about our conversation. I closed my eyes and thought about the last twenty-four hours. Meeting Alexis, Loki's attack on S.H.I.E.L.D., our little family reunion, and then getting ready to go to Stuttgart.

I had only brought a few knives. I wanted to travel light in case of a showdown with Loki or Clint. I was wearing a jacket and black pants, with boots and fingerless gloves. Underneath I was wearing very light body armor. It would only be enough to stop a regular arrow, but not a blast from Loki's magic death stick. I, like Tasha, was only here to provide back-up.

I unbuckled myself and walked to the back of the jet. I sat down across from Steve. He looked up at me.

"Aren't you a little young to be working for an organization like S.H.I.E.L.D.?"

"Maybe. It was between S.H.I.E.L.D. and the orphanage."

"How did S.H.I.E.L.D. even become an option?"

I sighed and stared at my feet.

"After the accident, I had run away. I was pretty resourceful for a six year old. I managed to get by for a few months. Digging through trashcans, pickpocketing, once I even stole someone's cat. Then I made a mistake. Agent Romanoff and Agent Barton were on assignment. I started to pick Barton's pocket, but he noticed. I ran, and hid in an alley. But Romanoff found me. I guess she thought I had talent. I've never seen anyone escape from her before. She took me into S.H.I.E.L.D., and I've been with them ever since."

We both sat in silence for a moment.

"I'm sorry about what happened to you. I really am. But I can't really deal with this right now."

"I'm not asking you to. Telling you was Fury's idea. I've been fine for the past eleven years. I don't really have any need for a relationship with you. I think you should on trying to live in the present."

"Okay. I only have one more question."

"What?"

"Did the Erskine's formula have any effect on you?"

I smiled.

"Actually yes. It's been diluted through the generations, but it's still there. I have faster reflexes, am stronger, and am slightly faster than normal people. I do not, however, have a spangly outfit and shield."

We both chuckled.

"So… Agent Coulson."

I grinned.

"I was waiting for you to mention him. Did he ask you to sign his Captain America trading cards?"

He looked at me with a confused expression.

"Captain America trading cards?"

"They're vintage. He's very proud."


	11. New Arrival

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

New Arrival

* * *

22 Konigstrasse, Stuttgart, Germany

* * *

I looked out the window. Loki was standing over a large crowd, all of them kneeling before him. Actually, they were kneeling before four of him. There was one on each side of the mass. The Loki's were all dressed in an outfit that made them look like little green and gold devils.

He was making a speech. I tuned in our devices to listen in on him.

"…It's the unspoken truth of humanity that you crave subjugation. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life's joy in a mad scramble for power. For identity. You were made to be ruled. In the end, you will always kneel."

I looked down at the crowd and saw an older man stand up. Something bad was about to happen. I stood up and ran to the back of the ship.

"Captain, you're up."

I opened the landing bay doors. The jet lowered to the ground. Steve stood up and jumped to the ground below. He landed on the roof of a car, leaving a large dent in the roof I ran to the front of the jet. The man was starting to speak.

"Not to men like you."

Loki laughed and raised his scepter.

"There are no men like me."

"There are always men like you."

The man stood in front of two children. Loki lowered the scepter and pointed it at the man.

"Look to your elder, people. Let him be an example."

Loki was about to execute him. He fired off a blast, but Steve jumped in front of him, his shield raised. The shot bounced off and hit Loki, knocking him over. Steve lowered his shield and walked forward.

"You know, the last time I was in Germany and saw a man standing above everybody else, we ended up disagreeing."

Loki stood up, his greasy black hair still perfectly in place.

"The soldier. A man out of time."

Natasha looked up at me and gestured at the seat.

"Man the gun."

I sat down and pulled on the headset. I grabbed the controls for the machine gun. Steve was still walking towards Loki.

"I'm not the one who's out of time."

Natasha swung us around so that we were over the square. I lowered the machine gun and centered it on Loki. I grabbed the intercom.

"Loki, drop the weapon and stand down."

Loki suddenly blasted his scepter at Steve. Steve managed to raise his shield in time, so that it only blasted him off his feet.

"Kneel!"

Steve jumped up and hit Loki in the jaw.

"Not today!"

They began to fight around the plaza, Steve tossing his shield at Loki and Loki blasting back at him. I tried to keep the gun aimed at Loki, but I couldn't get a lock on them.

"These guys are all over the place!"

There was a buzzing in my headset.

"Why don't you guys let me handle this?"

"Stark?"

A message came up saying that our P.A. system was being overridden. A moment later the son 'Shoot to Thrill' came on. Stark flew under the jet, blasting once at Loki. Loki fell back onto the steps behind him. Stark landed in front of him, activating all of his weapon systems, training them all at Loki. As I tried to get AC/DC out of our system, I saw Loki raise his hands in submission.

With great effort, I managed to get control of the P.A. systems again. Natasha landed us in front of Steve, Stark, and Loki. I got up out of my chair and opened the doors. I grabbed two pairs of handcuffs and walked out of the jet.

Stark and Steve both had Loki by the arms. They walked him towards the jet.

"Marcus! Good to see you."

Stark's mask was open.

"Stark..."

I sighed.

"Next time make it 'Highway to Hell'."

"Agreed."

I walked up the steps and grabbed Loki's scepter. It was about six feet tall, and seemed to be made of gold. The top of it was two curved blades, with a glowing blue gem in-between. The gem was about the size of a fist, and looked exactly like the Tesseract, except for being ovular.

I walked back over to the jet with the scepter in hand. Once I had stepped onto the jet, the doors closed behind me. I set the scepter down behind the seats, next to the parachutes. I turned to strap down Loki.

Loki was sitting down in one of the seats, with Stark guarding him. I took the handcuffs and strapped him to the seat.

"Ah, the loyal agent, always following orders. It must-"

"Oh, shut up."

I walked into the cockpit and sat down. I looked over at Natasha.

"We're all set."

"Good. I want this son of a bitch to pay."


	12. God Fight

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

God Fight

* * *

Somewhere over Spain

* * *

I stared out the window and stared at the forest below us. Natasha was flying the Quinjet, while a maskless Steve and helmetless Stark stood in the back, keeping an eye on Loki.

"I don't like it."

I turned to Steve and saw that he was talking to Tony.

"What? Rock of Ages giving up so easily?"

"I don't remember it being ever that easy. This guy packs a wallop."

"Still, you are pretty spry, for an older fellow. What's your thing? Pilates?"

"What?"

"It's like calisthenics. You might have missed a couple things, you know, doing time as a Capsicle."

Steve gave Tony an annoyed look.

"Fury didn't tell me he was calling you in."

"Yeah, there's a lot of things Fury doesn't tell you."

"Stark, Cap has a point. I've seen petty thugs that put up more of a fight."

"Did either of you consider that this guy might be all show and no go?"

"That glowing stick packs a lot of go."

Stark rolled his eyes. There was a sudden burst of lightning in front of us. A storm had come out of nowhere. Another bolt of lightning rocked the ship. Natasha looked up at the sky and tried to maneuver through the storm.

"Where did this come from?"

I turned back to the others. I saw that Loki was looking up at the ceiling nervously. Steve glanced over at him.

"What's the matter, scared of a little lightning?"

Loki looked over at him, then back up at the ceiling.

"I'm not overly fond of what follows..."

There was a loud thump from the top of the jet.

"What the fuck?"

Stark grabbed his helmet and Cap grabbed his shield. I hit the button to open the doors. There was a thump, and a man landed on the doors. I recognized the man as Thor. His long blond hair was illuminated by the lightning.

Stark stepped forward. He raised his hand, but Thor threw his hammer at him. It sent Stark crashing into the seats closest to me. The hammer flew back to Thor's hand. Thor walked over to Loki, and pulled him out of his seat, snapping the handcuffs. Thor then raised his hammer and flew out of the jet.

Stark stumbled up and walked over to the open doors. Steve gestured for him to stop.

"Stark, we need a plan of attack!"

Stark turned back to him, his mask on and shining.

"I have a plan: attack!"

Stark flew out of the jet, in the same direction as Thor. Steve rushed over to the side of the jet and grabbed a parachute. Natasha looked over her seat at him.

"I'd sit this one out, Cap."

"I don't see how I can."

"These guys come from legend, Captain. They're basically gods."

"There's only one God, ma'am, and I'm pretty sure he doesn't dress like that."

I turned to him.

"Cap, you will get hit, in the face, with a magic hammer. You should really reconsider sitting this out."

He turned around, grabbed his shield, saluted me, and jumped out of the plane. Natasha then turned to me.

"Are you jumping out too?"

I shook my head.

"I'm not crazy. I'm not a god, don't have a shield, and am severely lacking a robot suit. I'm perfectly fine up here."

"We should probably keep an eye on them. Make sure that we're there to pick up Loki if it just becomes a pissing contest."

Ten Minutes Later

We descended through the cloud barrier. We were over a dark forest, near a craggy cliff. I spotted Loki looking down at the forest below. Captain America had just intervened in a fight between Iron Man and Thor.

I saw Loki trying to sneak away. I lowered the machine gun and aimed it at him.

"Loki, move another foot and I splatter you against the rocks."

Loki looked up at the plane, obviously trying to decide if he could escape. I lowered a second gun and fired. A net spun out, entangling Loki and forcing him to the ground.

"Bring us down next to him."

Natasha landed us on the rocks next to him. I opened the landing bay doors and walked out of the ship. Loki was about twenty feet away. I walked over to him and knelt next to his head.

"I don't suppose you want to tell me where the Tesseract is, do you?"

He growled at me.

"You pathetic geck, I will rip your eyes out before I tell you the location of the Tesseract! Your world will burn and you with it! Your only hope for a merciful death is to surrender to me now!"

"I'll take that as a no. Come on."

I grabbed the end of the net and dragged him towards the jet. I may or may not have gone out of my way to hit his head on every large rock I could see.

I was about to drag him onto the jet when Iron Man landed next to me. He was holding Captain America by the arms. Thor landed next to him, hammer in hand. I glanced down at Loki and saw he was smirking.

"And the heroes return! How goes the battle? Have you finished your petty squabble?"

He was about to say more, but I kicked him in the side of his head. I nodded towards Thor.

"Is he coming with us?"

Both Cap and Stark nodded.

"Let's go."


	13. Redacted

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Redacted

* * *

S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Deck B

* * *

I walked out onto the deck first. My hair blew from the force of the engines of the Quinjet. The sun was starting to rise, and I realized that I hadn't had a proper night's sleep in more than twenty-four hours.

I heard Iron Man follow me out.

"Hey, do you guys have any place for me to put my stuff?"

"What kind of stuff?"

"A large 12' by 4' metal container."

"We can make you some room in the cargo hold."

"I'll also need some lab space."

"Don't worry. There's enough room for you in Banner's lab."

Before he could respond, Fury walked out of the ship. Behind him was an escort of eight heavily armed soldiers. Fury walked up to me.

"Agent Rogers, where is Loki?"

"In the ship."

"You left him in there?"

"With Captain Rogers, Agent Romanoff, and Thor."

"Good."

He signaled for the men to go in. A few minutes later, they had Loki freed and were escorting him inside.

"Where are you taking him?"

I turned around and saw Thor standing there.

"Sir, my name is Nick Fury. And those men are taking your brother down to our detention center."

"Harm shall not befall him."

"We'll do our best."

Thor grunted and followed the escort into the ship. Fury turned back to me.

"You've been requested on level twenty-four."

That was one of the crew decks.

"Which bunk?"

"Thirty-three."

I walked past him and headed through the sliding glass double doors. The interior of the ship was comfortably warm. I walked over to the nearest lift and entered 24 into the console. The doors slid shut and the elevator started to descend.

* * *

Level 24

* * *

I stepped out of the lift and looked down the hall. I walked to the left until I reached number 33. I knocked on the door and waited until it slid open.

Standing there in the doorway was Alexis. She looked like she had recently showered. He blond hair was darker and clung to the back of her neck. She was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt and dark gray pants. She was wearing black socks on her feet. I also noticed that she had painted her fingernails purple.

"Alexis! What are you doing here?"

Alexis sighed and gestured for me to come in.

"So, after that Denton guy debriefed me, apparently some guy named Fury got orders to keep me on this… boat? Plane?"

"We usually just refer to it as a 'ship'."

She raised an eyebrow at me and gave me a look that told me to shut up.

"So they won't let me leave this _ship_. They gave me this room and even got some of my clothes from my apartment!"

"Did they say why we're keeping you here?"

"No. That was why I wanted to talk to you. I got the feeling that you were one of the higher ups."

"I'm sorry. I have no idea why S.H.I.E.L.D. wants you here."

"They also gave me a badge."

She dug around in her pocket and pulled out a small rectangular badge. It had a yellow stripe in the background, with a picture of her, her name, and the words **Level 7**.

"Yeah, you're gonna want to wear that."

"Is Level 7 good?"

"It's S.H.I.E.L.D.'s second highest security level."

Alexis frowned and looked at the badge. I pulled out my phone and switched to the camera.

"Can I see that?"

She handed me the badge. I took a picture of it, and then handed it back to her. I zoomed in one the photo of her and started a simple search algorithm. Within a few seconds her personal file came up.

**Full Name: Alexis Virginia Hannon**

**Date of Birth: March 11, 1996**

**Height: 5' 9"**

**Place of Birth: New York City, New York**

**Father: Mark Hannon**

**Mother: Lauren Hannon (nee Brown)**

There was nothing unusual about her parents, father was an HR rep, and her mother was a chef. But her mother's father's file had been redacted. He wasn't dead, just… gone.

"Hm."

"What's wrong?"

"Something's… missing."

"What?"

"Do you know much about your grandparents?"

"On my father's side? His mother was a seamstress and his father was a banker."

"And you mother's side?"

Alexis thought about it for a minute.

"I guess not. Why?"

"Just one of the reasons you could be here is because of your family. Your mother's mother was a baker, but her father's file had been redacted."

"File?"

"S.H.I.E.L.D. has files on everyone."

"Why would his file be redacted?'

"I have no idea. I've never seen anyone's file redacted."

We both sat there in silence. I then stood up.

"I should go change. These clothes smell like Spain."

"Spain?"

"I was in Spain. I don't like Spain. Spain is bad."

She looked like she was trying to keep from laughing, badly.

"Do you want me to come back after I change?"

Alexis nodded and smile appreciatively.

"Yeah. It would be nice to have a familiar face."

I smiled back at her.

* * *

30 Minutes Later

* * *

I walked back into the room and saw that Alexis was lying on her bed, a book in hand. She was leaning against the head of the bed. I saw the bottom of her shirt had ridden up slightly, exposing a small strip of her skin. She looked up at me and grinned.

"Hey."

She patted the spot on the bed next to her. I was about to sit down when my phone buzzed. I pulled it out and checked. The message was an alert from the Detention Centre.

"I have to- actually, you can see this too. Do you want to see it?"

"What is 'it'?"

"Probably a basic interrogation. I can watch it somewhere else if you want me to."

She shook her head and I sat down next to her. I held my phone up and pointed it at the wall. I hit a few buttons and it projected the video on the wall. We had missed the first few seconds.

Loki was standing in the middle of the Cell. It had been built specially to hold the Hulk. It was a large, circular room that was lined with glass walls.

Director Fury was standing on the other side of the glass, standing next to the control panel. Loki gestured at the prison around him.

"It's an impressive cage. Not built, I think, for me."

"Built for something a lot stronger than you."

"Oh I've heard."

Loki turned to look at the camera. He had an evil smile on his face.

"The mindless beast, makes play he's still a man. How desperate are you? You call on such lost creatures to defend you."

"How desperate am I? You threaten my world with war. You steal a force you can't hope to control. You talk about peace, but you kill because it's fun. You have made me very desperate. You might not be glad that you did."

Loki turned back to Fury and grinned.

"Ooh. It burns you to have come so close. To have the Tesseract, to have power, _unlimited _power, and for what?"

Loki turned back to the camera.

"A warm light for all mankind to share? And then to be reminded what real power is."

Fury stared at Loki for a moment, and then walked down the steps towards the door.

"Well, let me know if 'real power' wants a magazine or something."

Fury walked down the metal stairs and out of the room. The video cut out. I stuck my phone back in my pocket.

"Who was that?"

"It's a really long story."

Alexis propped herself up on her elbow.

"I don't have anywhere to be."

So I sat up and began to tell her everything. Somewhere between the Destroyer and the Super Soldier project, she fell asleep. She was on top of my arm. I considered trying to get out from under her, but decided against it. I settled down onto the bed and closed my eyes. And finally sleep came.


	14. Growing Tensions

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Growing Tensions

* * *

Level 24, Compartment 33

* * *

I heard a buzzing in my ear.

"_Loki means to unleash the Hulk. Keep Banner in the lab; I'm on my way. Send Thor as well."_

I recognized it as Tasha's voice. I opened my eyes and looked to my left. I was lying in bed with Alexis. Her head was gently nuzzled against my chest, one of her arms draped over my chest. I gently worked my way out from underneath her and stood up. I checked to make sure she was still asleep before I left.

* * *

Lab 4, The Wishbone

* * *

As I walked into the lab, I could see that tensions were building. Stark was angling a screen at Fury, with the schematics for one of the Phase Two missiles on it. Stark looked at me as I entered the room.

"Ah, another liar. Tell me, did you know about the weapons of mass destruction in your basement?"

"Stark, they are just a precaution. We would never use them unless we had to."

Just then, Thor and Natasha walked in, and all hell broke loose. Stark started bickering with Steve, while Thor and Fury had a pissing contest, and all the while Natasha trying to get Banner out of there.

"Are you all really that naive? S.H.I.E.L.D monitors potential threats."

Bruce turned to her.

"Captain America is on potential threat watch list?"

Stark looked at Steve incredulously.

"You're on that list? Are you above or below angry bees?"

"I swear to God, Stark, one more crack..."

"Threatening! I feel threatened!"

Thor then laughed.

"You people are so petty... and tiny. You speak of control, yet you court chaos."

Banner through his hands up into the air.

"It's his M.O., isn't it? I mean, what are we, a team? No, no, no. We're a chemical mixture that makes chaos. We're... we're a time-bomb."

Fury raised his hand slowly.

"You need to step away."

Stark made an exasperated noise.

"Why shouldn't the guy let off a little steam?"

Steve slapped his arm.

"You know damn well why! Back off!"

"Oh, I'm starting to want you to make me."

"Yeah. Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?"

"Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist."

Natasha nodded her head to the side.

"I know guys with none of that worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you."

"I think I would just cut the wire."

"Always a way out. You know, you may not be a threat, but you better stop pretending to be a hero."

"A hero? Like you? You're a laboratory experiment, Rogers. Everything that's special about you came out of a bottle."

"Put on the suit. Let's have it out."

Fury stepped forward.

"Agent Romanoff, would you escort Dr. Banner back to his..."

"Back where? You rented my room."

"The cell was built..."

"In case you needed to kill me, but you can't! I know, I tried!"

We all looked at Bruce, and every one of us was shocked. Bruce looked unnerved.

"I got low. I didn't see an end, so I put a bullet in my mouth and the other guy spit it out! So I moved on. I focused on helping other people. I was good, until you dragged me back into this freak show and put everyone here at risk!"

Natasha looked at him uneasily. Bruce looked upset as he saw her face.

"You wanna know my secret, Agent Romanoff? You wanna know how I stay calm?"

I saw Bruce's hand come to a rest on the scepter behind him. He slowly picked it up. I saw Natasha and Fury move their hands down to their guns. I slowly grabbed a knife from the inside of my shirt. Steve stepped forward, his hand raised slowly.

"Doctor Banner."

Bruce looked up at Steve, who was eyeing him calmly.

"Put down the scepter."

"Banner looked down and realized that he was holding the scepter. Just then, the computer beeped."

Bruce set down the scepter and walked over to the computer.

"Sorry, kids. You don't get to see my little party trick after all."

Banner checked the computer.

"Oh, God."

Before he could say anything else, an explosion ripped through the ship, knocking me unconscious.


	15. Mr Hyde and the Kiss

I DON NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Mr Hyde and the Kiss

* * *

Lab 4, The Wishbone

* * *

Everything was fuzzy. The alarm I heard was distorted. I felt a trickle of warm liquid flowing down my cheek. I opened my eyes but quickly closed them again. A bright light was blinding. After another minute, I opened my eyes again.

I was lying in a hallway. I felt a heavy weight on my leg. Red lights were flashing up and down the hall. I realized that the liquid was blood. I felt a pounding in my forehead. I suspected that was wear the blood was coming from. I tried to sit up, but my arm was pinned down by a metal beam.

I gently wiggled my arm and managed to get out from under the beam. I slowly stood up and looked around. I was in the hallway outside of the lab. The explosion must have thrown me through the window. I looked through the broken window and saw that Director Fury and Thor unconscious on the ground.

I ran through the door and knelt by Fury.

"Director! Wake up!"

I shook his shoulder. His eye fluttered open.

"Agent Rogers. What happened?"

"An explosion. Not sure from where."

I pressed my finger to my earpiece.

"Report!"

Agent Hill's voice came on the line.

"There was an external detonation. Engine 3 is down, and the Hulk is loose on the lower levels."

"Oh God."

The Hulk would tear this ship apart. Someone needed to stop him. I moved over to Thor.

"Thor!"

His eyes flew open and his hammer flew into his hand.

"What?"

"The Hulk is loose on the lower levels."

"What is a Hulk?"

"When Banner gets angry, he turns into a giant green monster. Very hard to miss. You're the only one strong enough to stop him."

Thor jumped up and through his hammer at the outside window. He then jumped through it and flew away. I turned around and saw that the Director had left.

"Alexis."

I ran from the room and to the nearest lift.

* * *

Level 24

* * *

I emerged from the lift and checked the hall. It looked exactly the same. I ran down to Alexis's compartment and opened the door. Her room was empty. I looked outside again. I pressed my finger to my earpiece again.

"Does anyone have eyes on Alexis Hannon?"

A woman's voice came on.

"This is Debra Ignotus from Engineering. I just saw her walking down the catwalk by Engine 2. She- Oh my God! It's the Hulk! Oh-"

Her voice cut out, but not before I heard a monstrous roar. I ran from the room to the lift. Alexis was too close to the Hulk. If I didn't get there, she might die.

Level 17, Engine 2

I ran down the catwalk and jumped over the railing. I landed on a coolant pipe and made my way through the maze of pipes. I gave me a good few of all the catwalks in the area. For some reason, the place seemed to be deserted. I stopped when I saw movement on one of the catwalks.

I moved down to the catwalk and slipped silently onto it. I saw that Alexis was walking down the catwalk, looking around confusedly.

"Alexis?"

She spun around with a shocked look on her face.

"Marcus!"

She rushed over to me pulled me into a tight embrace.

"What are you doing down here?"

She looked up at me.

"I heard an explosion, and then the entire ship shook. Someone told me to come down here and stay out of sight."

"Yeah, it turns out that was the worst advice ever."

I heard a roar echoing through the ship. It didn't sound too far off.

"Run!"

I grabbed her hand and pulled her away from the sound.

"What was that noise?"

"Mr. Hyde. Jekyll got blown out."

Another roar came, closer to us this time. I jumped onto a pipe and pulled Alexis up with me. I pressed my finger to my lips and signaled for her to follow me. I climbed through the pipes, checking every so often to make sure she was behind me. We crawled through the pipes for about half an hour, until we were about halfway across the ship. I decided we should be safe.

I crawled out of the pipes and onto another catwalk. I caught Alexis as she jumped down.

"Can I ask what that was about?"

"That thing that made those noises was the Hulk. During the explosion, Banner must have gotten angry. And now he could tear this ship apart. Come on, I think we should be safe up here."

I walked through a hatch that emptied into a hall that's opposite side was lined with windows. It looked out on the Wishbone. Before we could move, an F-35 flew into the Wishbone. It was angled away from us. I then realized it was aimed at the research labs. I jogged around to see what it was aiming at.

Thor and the Hulk were fighting each other. Thor managed to land a few good blows, but the Hulk was obviously winning. That was, until the jet opened fire on the Hulk.

The Hulk tried to block the bullets, but must have realized that wasn't working. He then burst through the window and grabbed the nose of the jet. He grabbed the jet down out of sight.

Just then another shudder went through the ship. Another engine had gone down. The ship tilted slightly.

I looked over at Alexis and saw that she was shaking. I walked over to her and placed my hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright."

I heard my earpiece buzz on.

"Agent Barton is heading for the Detention Centre. Can anyone intercept?"

I was about to answer when Natasha's voice came on.

"This is Agent Romanoff. I'm on my way."

Natasha sounded shaken. But I didn't have time to worry about her now.

"Come on. If the Hulk is gone, this place is a lot safer. I'll get you back to your bunk."

"I can get there by myself. You should go up to the bridge, or whatever."

She turned to leave, but then she turned back to me. She stood on her toes and pressed her lips against mine. They were warm, and tasted slightly like raspberries. We stayed like that for a moment, before she broke off. She then placed her hand on my chest.

"Go."

She then turned and ran down the hall. Crap. I was falling for her.


	16. Departure

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Departure

* * *

Catwalk DC-43

* * *

I ran down the catwalk, not caring if anyone heard me. I was on my way to the Detention Centre, hoping to be able to stop Clint before he freed Loki. I knew Natasha had said that she was on the way, but I had no idea where she was. I could be closer.

I stopped for a second. I heard grunting up ahead. I slipped under the catwalk and crawled along the bottom. Up ahead I saw to people fighting in close quarters. I slipped into the pipes next to me to get a better look.

I saw Tasha and Clint fighting. Clint's bow was on the ground next to him, and they were fighting each other with knives. I was about to step in when Natasha managed to knock Clint off his feet. He hit his head on the railing and fell to his knees.

He then looked up at Natasha.

"Tasha?"

She responded by punching him, knocking him unconscious. I climbed out of the pipes next to them. Natasha didn't look up.

"I had to do it."

I nodded.

"You did."

I knelt down beside Clint and opened one of his eyes. The sky blue glow was gone from them.

"He might be cured. Severe cognitive recalibration. You should get him to the medical bay."

She nodded. I grabbed Clint's knife and stuck it in my belt. I heard a boom come from the direction of the Detention Centre. I ran through the door and looked around

The cage was gone. It looked like the clamps hade come off of it and dropped it out of the ship. Hopefully Loki was still in it. I looked around and saw Agent Coulson on the ground. The front of his suit had a large puddle of blood on it.

"Coulson!"

I ran over to him and knelt by his side. His eyes fluttered open.

"I'm sorry, boss. The god rabbited."

"Just stay awake. Eyes on me."

"No. I'm clocked out here."

"Not an option."

"It's okay, boss. This was never going to work... if they didn't have something... to..."

Phil turned his head away and sighed. His chest stopped rising and falling. I stood up and backed away as two paramedics rushed past me to Coulson. They looked up at me and shook their heads.

I sucked in a breath and pressed my earpiece.

"Agent Coulson is down."

The voice of an unknown person came on.

"Paramedics are on their way."

"They're already here."

I sucked in another breath and did everything I could not to shed a tear.

"They called it."

The line went dead. I walked down the metal stairs and into the hall. I stumbled and couldn't take it anymore. I screamed and drove my knife into the wall. I wondered if this was how the Hulk felt. A pure, blinding rage that made you forget about everything. I tore a gash in the wall until the blade broke off. I felt the broken blade cut my hand, but I didn't care.

I saw a medic walk in and bandage my hand. When he was done I wandered up to the bridge. Fury was standing in between his screens, staring out into space. Hill was sitting on the steps, a bloody gash on her forehead being treated. I sat down at the table and dropped the bloody dagger hilt. I hadn't even realized that I was holding it.

"Agent Rog-"

I held my finger up.

"Don't. Please, don't."

Fury fell silent. I heard footsteps behind me, but didn't turn my head. Steve sat down next to me, wearing a blue shirt and khaki pants. Stark sat down at the end of the table.

Fury stepped forward and was about to speak, but I couldn't. This was his fault. Coulson's death, Clint's kidnapping, everything. I stood up and walked out of the room. I needed to talk to someone.

* * *

Level 24

* * *

I stormed out of the elevator and into Alexis's room. She was sitting on the edge of her bed, holding onto a S.H.I.E.L.D. phone. She stood up when I entered the room.

"Wha-"

I cut her off by pressing my lips against hers. Her eyes went wide, but she closed them. She wrapped her arms around my neck. I held her face in my hands, her lips massaging mine. I lifted her up so her head was level with mine. I felt her bite down on my lower lip, asking for entrance. I parted my lips, letting her tongue explore my mouth. Alexis moaned softly.

I lifted her onto the bed and laid her down. I lay down next to her and began to explore the nooks and crannies. She grabbed the hem of my shirt and started to lift it up. I let her take it off and throw it to the floor. Her hands moved down to my belt, but I pulled away.

"No. Not yet."

Alexis frowned and propped herself up on her elbows.

"Why not?"

I stood up and grabbed my shirt.

"I'm sorry. This was a mistake."

I started for the door. Before I could leave, Alexis moved in front of the door, her arms crossed over her chest.

"No, stay. Explain why this was a mistake."

I sighed and tried to step around her, but she stood in front of me.

"You're not getting out of here. Marcus, you may be some sort of super-spy, but you _really_ need to talk to someone."

"And why is that? How could you possibly know how I feel?"

I heard my voice rising, but I didn't care. She sighed and grabbed my hand.

"I know Agent Coulson was your friend. And I know you can't be fine with that. Please, talk to me."

Her tone was soft, and slightly pleading. I slowly nodded my head, letting her lead me to her bed again. I still hadn't put on my shirt. I dropped it on the floor again and sat down on the far side of the bed. Alexis curled up next to me, her head on my chest. She gently traced my muscles, waiting for me to talk.

"How long did you know Agent Coulson?"

"Phil. His name was Phil."

"How long did you know Phil?"

"My entire time here at S.H.I.E.L.D. He was my training officer, my first partner, and then my handler."

"He never moved up in all that time?"

"He had every opportunity, but he never wanted to. He loved his job."

"He sounds like a good guy."

"He was. He deserved better than what Loki did."

"Marcus, you can't make this personal."

I sat up straight.

"That's it. He made it personal."

Alexis just nodded, not seeing where this was going.

"He hit us all right where it hurts. He wants to make us weak. He wants to beat us and he wants to be seen doing it. He wants an audience."

Alexis nodded.

"Right, like his act at Stuttgart."

"Yeah. That's just a preview, this will be opening night. Loki's a full-tilt diva. He wants flowers, he wants parades, he wants a monument built in the skies with his name plastered..."

Of course.

"Son of a bitch!"

Alexis jumped of the bed, letting me off. I ran for the door, but stopped for a second. I spun on my hell and grabbed Alexis, pulling her into a deep kiss.

"Stay here. I'll be back."

"Go, Mr. Schwarzenegger."

I smiled and ran out the door.


	17. Going Rogue

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Going Rogue

* * *

Armory, Level B

* * *

I walked into the room with a purpose. The Armory was empty, except for a tech on level below. I had planned with Tasha, Tony, Steve, and Clint. Before I took another step, I pulled something out of my jacket pocket. It was a frequency jammer. I hit the button on the top and set it on the floor. All electronic devices in the room should be on the fritz.

I jumped onto the railing of the catwalk and hung by my feet. I grabbed the tech and placed my hand over his face. He struggled for a minute, but slumped into unconsciousness. I dropped him to the floor before swinging back up. I made sure the jammer was still working and slipped it into my pocket. I had gone rogue.

I walked down the catwalk until I reached a locked door at the end. I swiped my I.D. in the scanner and the door slid open. On the other side was the prototype weapon storage. No Phase Two of course, but things like the original Widow's Bite (acted like a Taser on the user), Hawkeye's original trick quiver (caught fire three out of four times), and an attempt to re-create Steve's shield.

I walked to the very back of the room and pulled out a large metal case. I unhooked the latches and lifted the lid. Sitting on top of a rectangle of Styrofoam were two metal bracelets, and eight throwing knives. The bracelets were deep black, with a single light strip on the top of each one. The knives were the same shade of black, with a light strip on each hilt. I pulled out the bracelets and put one on each wrist.

The light strips on each bracelet lit up green. They then whirred and fitted themselves to my wrists. The lights then turned blue and I felt a prick around each of my wrists. The lights turned green again. The bracelets had hooked up to my neural cortex. The lights on the knives lit up. I gestured with my fingers, and the knives flew out of the case. They each fitted themselves perfectly in between my fingers. They worked. Mind controlled knives. Awesome.

I stored the knives in my belt and walked out of the Armory.

* * *

Hanger 14

* * *

I walked through the doors to the hanger and looked around. I saw Clint, Natasha, and Steve were all walking towards me. Steve was suited up, shield on his arm. Clint had his bow strapped across his back. He looked fine, but I had to be cautious.

I hated that I had to do that. I had trusted Clint with my life. We had been in plenty of tough scrapes before. Chicago, Warsaw, even Budapest. I had always trusted him to have my back.

I met them halfway. Natasha walked towards me.

"Did you get them?"

I showed her my wrist.

"Where's Stark?"

I heard my earpiece come on.

"_Right here."_

"Lovely. He's in my ear."

_"I look forward to getting to know you."_

I sighed. We all started to walk towards an empty Quinjet. When we walked on, an engineer was examining the seats. He looked up at us and stood up.

"I don't think you guys-"

Steve just held up his hand.

"Son, just don't."

The man scampered out, looking very confused. Clint walked into the cockpit and strapped himself into the pilot's seat. I sat in the co-pilot's seat next to him. I looked back and saw Natasha and Steve buckling themselves in.

"Are we good?"

I looked over at Clint and nodded.

He closed the doors and started the takeoff sequence. A warning came over the P.A., stating that we were not cleared for takeoff. I just turned off the P.A.

"Are you okay?"

I looked over t Clint. He must have heard about Phil.

"I might ask you the same thing."

"My head hurts, but other than that I'm fine. Though I do have the urge to put an arrow through Loki's eye."

I laughed.

"You take his eye, I'll take his throat."

Clint smiled and nodded.

"Deal."

We started to move forward. There was a loud hum as the engines turned on. I checked to make sure no one was following us as we shot out of the ship.

A blip came up to our left. I looked out the window and saw that it was Stark. His armor was scratched and battered, and occasionally his repulsors gave out. I plotted us a course for Stark Tower and prayed we weren't to late.


	18. Avengers Assembled

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Avengers Assembled

* * *

Somewhere over the Fischer's Island Sound

* * *

I looked over the blue water and tapped my foot impatiently. Stark had gone off ahead, to do who knows what. If what Banner had said was right, then Loki could create a giant portal over New York, through which he could bring a force that could wipe out mankind. Maybe Stark hoped that he could stop it with no fuss. There's a first time for everything.

We were above Plum Island when it started. In the distance, a thin line of blue light shot into the air. Its end exploded into a circle of blue light. It cleared after a moment showing a view of space and various stars. I thought I saw a few black dots come out of it, and then a few flashes of light. I would have to guess that Stark had started the battle.

"Can we get there any faster?"

"Maybe."

Clint hit a few switches and I felt us speed up. The city skyline came into view in a matter of seconds.

"Stark, we're here."

"_What did you do, stop for drive through? Swing up Park, I'm laying them out for you."_

I lowered the machine gun and grabbed the controls. Clint had been listening to the conversation and swung us up Park Avenue. We were almost at Grand Central Station when Stark zoomed past. And things were following him.

They looked like flying golden chariots. They were about ten feet long and pure gold. There was simple railing in the back and front, making sure that the creatures on it didn't fall off. I couldn't tell much about the creatures. They had some sort of armor on, but the skin I could see looked like a sickly purple. There were three to a craft, one in front driving and two in back, one holding some sort of arm mounted cannon and the other holding some sort of staff.

There were about ten of them following Stark. I started to fire upon them I took them all out. I looked up at the sky and saw more and more of them flowing out of the portal.

"_Could you guys swing up and take care of Loki? I don't want him drinking all my scotch."_

Clint pulled us up to the penthouse level. What I saw was Thor and Loki fighting. I thanked God that Thor had survived that fall. I saw Loki charge his staff and point it at Thor. At the last second, he pointed it at us. Clint tried to swerve, but the blast hit our engine.

We started to spiral out of control. I held onto my seat as the world as the world around me blurred. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Clint trying to put us down. The entire craft shook boomed as we hit the ground. Smoke poured into the cabin and I realized that the entire craft was sideways.

I unbuckled myself and landed and the cold metal wall. I looked up and saw Clint was still strapped into his seat. I climbed up onto my seat and helped him down. We landed with a thunk and climbed into the back of the ship.

Natasha was unbuckled and helping Steve.

"Is everyone okay?"

Everyone sounded off, so I moved to the back and searched through the smoke for the door controls. The doors creaked open and sunlight flooded in. What I saw outside was much worse.

All the buildings around Stark tower were burning. Groups of those creatures, I think Thor had called them Chitauri, roamed the skies, firing on pedestrians. Cars were run off the road, some with people trapped inside. I saw people cowering in buildings, some straying outside to escape. Those who did were almost immediately gunned down.

I saw a group of Chitauri heading for us. The ones that didn't have the cannons were jumping off the crafts, landing in the park around us. They pointed the staves, which were tipped with what seemed to be a glowing purple axe blade, at us. One of them fired off at us, which hit the side of the jet. I pulled out my knives and jumped out of the jet.

I threw two knives at some Chitauri that were trying to flank us. I threw another at one in front of me. Another one took aim at me, but was taken down by an arrow. The arrow then shot out a few small bullets, taking out a few of them that were around the first. Steve's shield flew out and took out a few in a boomerang motion.

"We need to get to the high ground."

The four of us fought our way to the ramp and up to the station. The Chitauri continued to drop down around us. They started to overwhelm us, until a bolt of lightning came down from the sky. It electrocuted all of the Chitauri around us. Thor landed next to us. I looked back at Steve.

"You got any ideas, Cap?"

He looked around.

"We need to get the civilians off the streets. Get them out of the cars, and into the buildings or subways. Thor, you provide some air cover along with Stark."

Thor flew off and started to take down Chitauri. Stark flew along and started to fight some of them coming through the portal. I jumped over the stone railing and lande d on top of a stopped bus. I heard people crying out inside. Natasha landed next to me. We both climbed down off the bus and started to open it up.

I started to pry open the doors while Natasha and Clint helped people out of windows. I managed to get the door open. Smoke poured out, as did some people. I ushered them into the nearest building. They screamed and shoved their way in.

I moved to a group of people that were being surrounded by Chitauri. I threw three of my knives at them taking down the three closest to me. The other four turned to me and yelled. I ducked behind a car as they pulled out their staves. They fired at me, causing the car to lurch towards me. When they stopped, I jumped up over the car and grabbed one of them. I drove my knife into its neck. I then grabbed its staff and hooked it under its arm. The thing had a trigger, just like a normal gun. I fired at one, killing it, the other two fired at me, but the shots were stopped by the dead body. I then quickly killed the other two. I dropped the body and turned to the cowering people.

"Get inside! Now!"

They all ran down into a sub way terminal. I was about to move on when I heard a roar. I looked up and saw something huge coming out of the portal. It was about the size of a humpback whale, and was about the same shape. It was plated with metal, but somehow stayed in the air. It flew down to the tops of the building, and then shot things out of its sides. I saw that the things were Chitauri. They latched onto the sides of buildings. I saw Stark swoop down and fly around the thing.

"Stark! Are you seeing this?"

"_Seeing. Still working on believing."_

Stark launched a few rockets at it, but that only succeeded in pissing it off. It roared and made a full one eighty. Stark flew off, with the creature following it.

"_Is Banner there?"_

I heard Steve come on.

"Banner?"

"_Yeah. Let me know when he gets here."_

I dodged the shot from one of the flyers and ducked into a building. A group of people were huddled together in the lobby. I walked over to the man who was wearing a 'Manager' badge.

"Does this building have a basement?"

The man nodded nervously.

"Okay. I want you to get these down into the basement. If it was access to a subway tunnel, get them into there. Do not go out into the streets. You should be safe underground."

The man just nodded again. He then just stood there, staring out the window.

"Go!"

The man jumped and started to direct people down the stairs. Once they were all out, I headed back to the bridge.

As I climbed up on top of the bus, I saw Natasha, Clint, and Steve fighting off Chitauri from all sides. I leapt over the railing and took out two that were sneaking up behind Natasha. I saw that she was using one of the Chitauri weapons. She sighed and wiped her brow.

"Where were you?"

She started shooting, while I slashed at the oncoming Chitauri.

"_I _was down there getting people inside. I don't know what you were doing."

We cut down the rest of the Chitauri easily. As the last on fell, I heard the wheezing and sputtering of an old engine. I looked towards the sound and saw that it was coming from an old, rusted motorcycle. Banner was sitting on top of it. He swung his leg over the side and looked around.

"Well, this all looks… horrible."

Natasha lowered her staff and stared at him.

"I've seen worse."

Banner looked down at the ground.

"Sorry."

Natasha shook her head.

"No, we could use some worse."

I heard Steve come on the com line.

"Stark? We got him."

"_Banner...?"_

"Just like you said."

"_Then tell him to suit up... I'm bringing the party to you."_

About a block away. I saw Stark coming around the corner of a building. There was a crunching sound, and the whale creature followed him around the corner, taking a chunk out of the building. Stark led the creature toward us.

"I don't see how that's a party."

Natasha pretty much summed it up. Steve turned to Banner.

"Doctor Banner, now might be a perfect time for you to get angry. "

"That's my secret, Captain. I'm always angry."

Banner walked towards the beast. Then he started to change. First, his muscles bulked up slightly and he turned a bright shade of green. As he grew larger, his clothes ripped and fell off his body, leaving him only in a ripped pair of pants. He jumped and brought his fist down on the whale's head.

The creature's head smashed into the ground. The whale's body went vertically straight into the air. Armor started to fall off its body. Stark landed next to me and prepared a missile.

"_Hold on."_

He fired the missile into one of the exposed spots. The creature exploded over our heads. I ducked and covered my head. I felt chunks of the thing fall on me.

When I looked up, I saw the Chiauri coming in droves through the portal. Thor landed next to us. The seven of us gathered in a circle. I summoned all my knives back to me.

"_Call it, Captain." _

"All right, listen up! Until we can close that portal up there, what we need is containment. Barton: I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark: you've got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash. Thor: you've gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow them down. You've got the lightning - light the bastards up! Marcus: I want you to secure the station. We need a good place to get people underground."

Clint turned to Stark.

"Can you give me a lift?"

Stark grabbed his shoulders.

_"Better clench up, Legolas."_

Stark flew them up into the air and dropped Clint on top of a building.

Steve turned to Natasha.

"You and me: we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here. And Hulk."

Hulk looked down at him and grunted. Steve gestured up at the buildings where the Chitauri were hanging.

"Smash!"

Hulk smiled and grunted again. He jumped up to the buildings and proceeded to smash. This was our only chance to stop these things. And I was sure as hell going to make it count.


	19. Hack 'n Slash

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Hack 'n Slash

* * *

Grand Central Station

* * *

I ran around to the side of the building and looked for a maintenance entrance. If the Chitauri were inside, rushing in through the front doors would be a death wish. I found a door marked **AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL** **ONLY**. I yanked the door open and ran inside. I walked own the concrete hall until I found a door marked **TRACK MAINTENANCE**. The area behind the door was only lit by a light every twenty feet. I pulled out my glasses and turned them onto night vision. At once everything turned green, but I could see everything. Careful to avoid the third rail, I made my way down the tunnel.

After a few minutes I took the glasses off. I could see the light coming from the nearest platform. The lights were still on, causing a bright glow to come off the tiles. I looked up the stairs and heard screaming. A Chitauri was standing in front of the stairs, firing shots into a crowd. I quietly climbed the stairs until I was level with its legs.

I shot out my arms and grabbed the Chitauri's legs. I pulled him down to the stairs and grabbed a knife. I brought it down on the back of its neck. Blue blood squirted out, and the creature stopped struggling. I threw the body down the stairs. I crept up to the top of the stairs and took in the scene.

The entire bottom floor was filled with people. There were probably two hundred of them, all huddled in a clump in the middle, around the clock. The Chitauri had blocked all of the exits. Dozens of them had lined the railings of the upper floor, their staves trained on the people. If I walked out there, we would all die.

I examined the upper floor for a way to get there without being seen. I saw an air duct. It looked just big enough for me to get through. I climbed back down the stairs and looked for another vent. There was one down by the edge of the tracks, behind a bench. I carefully pulled out the bench and crouched down by the vent. I grabbed the covering between the slits and yanked on it. It took a few pulls, but finally it broke off.

I tossed it over onto the track. I then pulled out my glasses and put them onto heat vision. I then got onto my stomach and crawled into the vent.

* * *

Five Minutes Later

* * *

My tip for crawling through vents; don't. They are cold and dusty. They are very cramped and there's a smell you can never really identify. So to sum up; cold, dusty, cramped, and smelly.

As I crawled towards the second story duct grate, I heard a buzzing in my ear.

"_Marcus? Where are you?"_

I stretched to get to my earpiece.

"Maintain radio silence."

I crawled up next to the grate and braced my feet against it. My hands were on my knives. I gave on good kick, and the entire thing fell off. I jumped out of the duct.

Everything seemed to move in slow motion. As I fell, I threw one of my knives and threw it at one of the Chitauri that was farthest from me. It fell as I landed on top of another. I drove a knife into its neck, then pulled it out and threw it at another one, leaving a total of about twenty. Two of them charged me. I jumped over a bench that was between us and landed behind them. I grabbed them both in a headlock and slit their throats in one motion.

I dropped the bodies but grabbed one of the staves. I shot three of them that were aiming at me and ducked behind a pillar. A barrage of shots hit it, causing chunks of the off white stone to come off, creating a cloud of dust. I used the opportunity to turn on my glasses.

I stepped out into the cloud and shot three of the points of red light. That left only ten left on the top floor. I grabbed a knife and threw it, taking out three of them at once. I shot another two and moved out of the cloud. I pounced on another Chitauri, driving a knife into its neck and used it as a shield. I charged at two and flipped them both over the railing. I shot the last two and jumped down to the lower level.

The other five that were guarding the exits all moved in on me. I jumped and stabbed two of them, and shot another two. I turned and saw the last one coming at me. Before I could draw a knife, it had me pinned to the ground. It was about to kill me when an arrow pierced its side. I looked up and saw that it had come through a window.

"Thanks, Clint."

"_No problem."_

I pushed the dead body off of me and stood up. I looked at the crowd of people.

"Okay, you guys need to get underground."

I gestured to the stairs. The crowd started to move.

"Wait! How many of you know how to shoot?"

A handful of people raised there hands.

"Okay."

I picked up one of the staves.

"These things are just like guns. Pull the trigger, it shoots. All of you that can shoot should take one and guard the stairs. If anything that's not human comes through here, shoot it."

I spent the next couple of minutes helping people get underground and getting the guns set up. As I walked up the steps to leave, I heard a small voice behind me.

"What are those things?"

I turned around and saw that the voice belonged to a little girl. She was hanging onto her mother's leg. I sighed.

"I really don't know."

And with that, I left. I wasn't one for big speeches.

"Hey Clint? What do you have for me?"

"_Tasha is taking on a few down on Madison."_

"On it."


	20. Inbound Threat

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Inbound Threat

* * *

Madison Avenue

* * *

I looked over the old car and ducked back down. A shot went right where my head was seconds ago. I looked over at Natasha.

"Just like Budapest, right?"

She smiled and nodded.

"I said the same thing to Clint. He didn't think so."

"Well, he never has."

We both laughed. I then turned serious.

"We've got six of them bearing down on us. I'll provide cover while you flank them."

"On three?"

I nodded.

"One."

I grabbed my staff and readied it.

"Two."

Natasha got ready to run to the next car.

"Three!"

I stood up and started shooting at the Chitauri. Natasha ran for the nearest car while there attention was on me. I managed to hit one in the shoulder. I saw Natasha move around behind them and pull out her pistol. She shot two in the back of the head while I got one in the chest. The one that I had hit in the shoulder jumped back up. Natasha killed him while I got the last one. Natasha cocked her head like she was listening to her earpiece.

"Cap needs help on Park."

"Go."

She ran down the street. I looked around and saw one of the craft coming down lower. I saw that Loki was on the back. The craft started to fire at me, forcing me to jump to the side. As I was in the air, I spun in the air and shot at Loki. The blast knocked him off of the glider. I scrambled up and pulled out a knife. Loki stood up, with a snarl on his face.

"You will regret that, you Midgaurdian peasant!"

"Really? 'Cause I've been looking forward to this."

Loki grabbed the staff from a dead Chitauri and charged at me. I stepped to the side and slashed at him. He disappeared in a shimmer. I looked around and saw him appear behind me. He swung his staff at me, but I ducked in time. I drove my knife down into his boot. Loki screamed in pain, which was possibly the most pleasant sound I had ever heard.

"You made the mistake of crossing me. And I'm not going to let you forget it."

I pulled the knife out and knocked him to the ground. I brought my foot down on his torso.

"That was for Phil!"

I was about to bring my foot down again, but he grabbed my ankle and twisted. I fell to the ground. Loki brought his fist down on my chest. I struggled to breathe as he lifted his staff to my face.

"Now listen to me, you pathetic whelp. Before I end your measly life, I want you to hear me. When I am done here, I will go back to your flying fortress. And I will bring it down, like a pebble in a pond. But before I do, I will find that girl you hold so dear."

My vision went red as I struggled to get up.

"And when I find her, I will make her mine. She will scream my name in ecstasy, and there is not a thing you can do. Let that be your last though!"

He was about to bring the tip of the staff down, but I rolled out from under it. The thought of the _thing_ so much as laying a hand on Alexis gave me new strength. I jumped up and swung my fist at his head. It connected and I heard a satisfying crunching sound. He staggered back, blood pouring from his mouth. He looked up at me, but simply raised his arm. A glider swung down a swooped him up.

"Clint!"

"_What?"_

"Loki's heading you way. Shoot that son of a bitch out of the sky!"

"_Natasha's already on him."_

"Natasha?"

"_Yeah, she hijacked a glider and is chasing him down."_

I looked up and saw a glider chasing the one that Loki was on. After a brief fight, Loki shot down Natasha.

"No!"

I saw her body fly off the glider and land on top of Stark's building.

"_That fuck is going down!"_

After a few seconds I saw an explosion on Loki's glider. I saw him fall onto the penthouse level of the building. I ran towards the building, but the Hulk beat me two him. Hulk jumped from the top of Grand Central Station up to the penthouse level. After a few minute up to the roofs he jumped out.

I would have watched more, but two gliders were headed right for me. As they fired at me I hid under a stopped bus. When they had passed me I snuck into a building and made my way up to the roof.

When I opened the door to the roof, I was hit by a cloud of smoke. I realized that the building next to mine was on fire. I walked over to the edge and looked down. A group of gliders was coming down the street. I backed away from the edge and ran back towards it. I jumped over the edge just as the gliders passed under me. I prayed that this would work.

As I fell, I managed to grab the edge of a glider. I saw that the Chitauri on the back was held on by a chain. I pulled out a knife and slashed at the chain. I managed to nick its leg in the process, causing it to fall off the back. I climbed onto the glider and pulled out another knife. I careful walked forward. I snuck up behind the pilot. I quickly slashed his neck and pushed it over the edge.

The problem right now was that I had no idea how to fly this thing. The controls looked like to golden joysticks. I grabbed onto them and pulled up. The entire thing started to ascend at an alarming rate. I let up a little and the craft leveled out. I felt two different buttons on the controls. I hit the one on the left, and the craft sped up. I turned it so that it was heading for Stark Tower.

"_I think I have a way to shut down the portal."_

Natasha was on the com. Then Steve came on.

"_You do?"_

"_Yeah, and I'm looking right at it."_

I pressed my earpiece.

"Do you need a lift?"

"_It would be nice."_

I flew up to the top of Stark Tower. Natasha was standing next to a very complicated looking device. In the middle of it was the Tesseract, which was shooting the beam that had opened the portal. Dr. Selvig was standing next to her,

"Dr. Selvig?'

He raised his hand.

"I'm okay now."

I nodded and turned to Natasha.

"How do you close the portal?"

"I need Loki's scepter. It's down on the walkway."

I lowered the craft to the walkway on the penthouse. I saw the scepter lying there. I leaned over and grabbed it. I propped it up in front of me and flew back up.

"Catch!"

I tossed the scepter to Natasha. She caught it and headed to the machine. She touched the tip to the shield that surrounded it, causing sparks to fly off.

"_I can close the portal!"_

"_Do it!"_

"_Wait!_

Stark had come on the line.

"What?"

"_There's a nuke coming in. And I know just where to put it."_


	21. Capture

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

Capture

* * *

Stark Tower

* * *

"A nuke? Fury would never authorize a nuclear strike on a civilian population!"

"_Fury's the one who told me about it. I got the feeling that his higher ups ordered it."_

I landed the glider on the rooftop, I saw a rocket coming in over the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. I saw Stark flying alongside it. He grabbed it from underneath and forced it up. He began to turn up and head towards Stark Tower. He hit the tower just slightly before flying the nuke through the portal. I cheered.

After a few seconds there was an explosion. The Chitauri fell down dead. Whales dropped out of the sky, gliders crashed into buildings.

"Stark! You did it!'

There was no response.

"Stark?"

Still nothing. The explosion was growing and expanding towards the portal. Natasha was holding the staff in place.

"_Close it."_

Steve had come on the line

"_What?"_

"_Close it."_

The explosion was getting too big. Natasha touched the tip of the scepter to the Tesseract. The beam was cut off. The portal started to shrink. Just as it disappeared, I saw something fall through. It was Stark.

"There he is!"

Natasha and Selvig looked up. Stark tumbled through the air towards the ground.

"He's not slowing down!'

I jumped onto the glider and flew to intercept him. Before I could reach him, the Hulk jumped up and grabbed him. He grabbed onto the nearest building and slowed down. He leapt down onto the street next to Thor, Clint, and Steve. I landed next to them and ran over to Stark. His armor was scratched. The light in his Arc reactor had gone out. Thor ripped of the mask. Stark's eyes were closed. He wasn't breathing.

I knew we couldn't save him. There was no way we could get the armor off. In a fit of rage, the Hulk roared. The light went back on and he opened his eyes.

"What the hell? What just happened? Please tell me nobody kissed me?"

Steve chuckled.

"We won."

"Alright. Hey. Alright. Good job, guys. Let's just not come in tomorrow. Let's just take a day. Have you ever tried shawarma? There's a shawarma joint about two blocks from here. I don't know what it is, but I wanna try it."

Thor looked up at Stark Tower.

"We're not finished yet."

"And then shawarma after?"

I laughed.

"Sure. If you pay the bill."

I held out my hand to him.

"Deal."

I helped him up. I turned on the earpiece.

"Natasha?"

"_Yes?"_

"Meet us in the penthouse. We're almost done."

I stepped onto the glider. Steve and Clint climbed on behind me. Steve grasped my shoulder.

"You're sure you know how to fly this thing?"

"Have a little faith."

I started up the glider and flew us up. I landed us on the walkway and stepped off. Clint and Steve followed me. Thor and Stark landed next to us. The Hulk jumped up and landed behind us. Natasha appeared from somewhere. The seven of us walked into the penthouse.

Loki was lying in the middle of a crater. He crawled up the stairs before turning around. I pulled out a knife while Clint notched an arrow. Loki sighed and looked at Stark.

"If it's all the same to you, I'll have that drink now."


	22. The End For Now

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS.

The End... For Now

* * *

Three Days Later

* * *

I looked out the window of the car. Central Park was one of the few places that had suffered no major damage in the invasion. I was in the front car of an escort. The car I was in was a dull silver Acura TL, with the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the side. There was another car just like it driving behind us. In front were two other agents. We stopped after another minute.

"Sir, we're here."

I unbuckled myself and stepped out of the car. I was wearing blue jeans, a blue shirt, and my boots. I walked over the cobble stone street to the bridge that went over one of the ponds. The entire area had been blocked off by S.H.I.E.L.D. On the other side of the bridge was a magenta sports car. Stark was standing next to it, in a white suit and clack tie. He had a silver case in his hand.

Steve was standing next to a parked motorcycle. He was wearing a blue pinstriped shirt, brown leather jacket, and khakis.

Thor was standing in the middle of the bridge, but he wasn't alone. Next to him stood Loki. He was wearing specialized had cuffs and a muzzle. Thor was holding a cylindrical glass container.

I turned as the second car stopped behind me. Clint stepped out of the driver's seat, while Natasha got out of the passenger's side. Natasha was wearing a black tank top, black pants, and a tan leather jacket, while Clint was wearing black jeans, a red shirt. And brown jacket. Clint walked to the back and opened the door. Dr. Banner stepped out. Natasha walked around and pulled a duffel bag out of the trunk. She handed it to Dr. Banner and walked over to me.

"Is everyone here?"

I nodded.

"The sooner we get the Tesseract off the planet, the sooner we'll be safe… for now."

Stark walked forward. Steve followed him. I walked towards Thor and Loki, with the other three behind me. I patted Tor on the arm.

"It was nice to meet you, Thor. Let's hope nothing like this ever happens again."

Thor smiled and whacked me on the back. I was fairly sure that there was going to be a bruise.

"It was good to meet you as well, Marcus."

Stark came over and set the case down.

"Well, Point Break, I'll see you later."

Stark knelt by the case and undid the clasps. Sitting inside was the Tesseract. Stark produced a large set of tongs from his jacket. He grabbed the Tesseract with the tongs and lifted it up. Thor opened the container in his hand. Stark gently placed it inside. Thor closed it again, and gave one of the handles on the container to Loki.

"It's time to go home, brother."

Loki just glared at him. Thor twisted his handle. There was a flash of blue light, and they were gone. I looked over at Banner.

"Well, I guess it's your turn now."

He smiled and shook my hand.

"It was nice to meet you all. Hopefully I won't break your ship next time."

I grinned. Banner grabbed his duffel bag and walked over to Stark.

"So Doc, my offer still stands. Candyland. Mixed with Christmas. And Labor Day weekend."

"Actually, I think I just want to go back to India."

Banner threw his bag into the back of the sports car, and the both of them drove away. I walked over to Steve and shook his hand.

"Well Captain, it was good to meet you."

"It was nice to meet you to. And I think I want to get to know you better."

"As an agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., or as your grandson?"

"Both."

I smiled and nodded.

"I think I'd like that too. Good luck."

"You too."

He walked over to his motorcycle and swung himself onto it.

"Hey Cap!"

He turned to look at me. I raised my hand to my forehead and saluted him. He saluted back and started up the motorcycle. I turned back to Clint and Natasha. I saw that their hands were brushing.

"You know what, you guys head back to base. I'll be back later."

Clint raised his eyebrows.

"Are you sure?"

I caught a flash of movement out of the corner of my eye. I turned my head to see what it was. I felt a smile creep to my face.

Alexis was standing about fifty feet away, leaning against a tree. She was wearing a dark green blouse and jeans. She smiled and waved at me.

"Yeah. I have… things to do."

Natasha followed my gaze. She was about to object, but Clint dragged her away. I chuckled as they drove away. The rest of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents packed up and drove away. I jogged down the hill towards Alexis. She smiled again and walked towards me. We met halfway.

"Hey."

Alexis took a step closer.

"Hey."

"How did you get down here?"

"Well, apparently I didn't need protection now that the aliens were dealt with."

"Well, now that you're free, is there anything you want to do?"

Alexis placed her hand on my chest and stood on her toes.

"I can think of one or two things."

She gently pressed her lips against mine. I placed my hands on her back and pulled her close. She wrapped her arms loosely around my neck. I pulled away after a few seconds.

"Do you want to grab some lunch?"

She looked surprised.

"Is anything still open?"

I grinned.

"Well, I know this great shawarma place."

* * *

**I just want to say thank you to all my fans. You guys have made The Burning Earth my most popular story! It's at over 1,000 hits! And I want to say that there will be a sequel to this. Soon.**


	23. Epilogue: Shawarma

I DO NOT OWN THE AVENGERS. OR A SHAWARMA RESTERAUNT.

Shawarma

* * *

Elat Burger

* * *

I took another bite from my shawarma and looked around. Thor was sitting across from me, and had already downed four. Natasha was to my left, gently nibbling at hers. Clint was on my right, dipping one of his fries. Steve was taking a bit out of his, while Banner was jotting something down on a napkin. Stark was trying desperately to keep sauce off his five thousand dollar suit.

I set my sandwich down.

"So… shawarma good?"

There was a resounding yes. I took another bite from my shawarma.


End file.
